For me, as is likely the case for many of you, the fall has already been a blur of activity. My schedule has been packed with conference travel, trips to several tissue banks, and preparations for our Annual Meeting, in addition to the launch of several new AATB resources and the introduction of a few new faces around the office.

2018 AATB Annual Meeting

At the AATB home office, final preparations are being wrapped up for our 42nd AATB Annual Meeting, which will be held next week in Dallas, Texas. I look forward to connecting with many of you there for what will surely be a phenomenal week of education and collaboration.

2018 CTBS Exam

We will also be hosting the annual Certified Tissue Bank Specialist (CTBS) Exam at the conclusion of the meeting. As a reminder, the CTBS Exam question writing contest is still open, so please continue to submit your questions for next year's exam. Visit our website for contest details and prizes. And best of luck to anyone taking the exam next week!

AATB News Brief

We have also just launched a new weekly news roundup email, the AATB News Brief. With this customized news brief, we're proud to offer subscribers a hand-curated selection of relevant news and association updates. The AATB News Brief will also allow us to feature news from our members, so please subscribe to the brief, and feel free to send your organization's news our way so we can share it with the tissue community.

Website Refresh

If you visited our website this week, you undoubtedly noticed some significant changes and improvements. On October 1st, we launched a website refresh to improve the user experience on our site. New content, layouts, navigation, and interactive features are now available on aatb.org, so be sure to check it out.

New Hires

Another exciting change here at AATB is the addition of two new staff members. Renee Glauser has joined us as the Director of HR and Administration. Since she arrived in early September, Renee has brought an infectious positive energy to the office, along with a set of strong professional skills.

In addition, Beverly Bliss has joined AATB in a new capacity, transitioning from her previous role as a member of our Board of Governors, to a full-time staff position as Vice President of Standards and Accreditation. Having worked closely with Beverly for several years, I have no doubt that she will be a valuable asset to the AATB team. You can read more about Renee and Beverly below.

Renee Glauser

Director of HR & Administration

Renee Glauser joins AATB in the newly created Director of HR and Administration position. Renee is a graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with a Bachelors of Business Administration and brings over 15 years of human resource experience. She is an experienced Director with a demonstrated history of providing Human Resource skills including talent acquisition, employee engagement, compliance, performance management, payroll and benefit administration, as well as learning and development initiatives.

Beverly Bliss is the new Vice President of Standards and Accreditation at AATB. Since 2005, Beverly worked at RTI Donor Services, following a 25-year career with the American Red Cross Biomedical Tissue Division. As Vice President of RTI Donor Services, she was responsible for the operational activities of donation authorization, recovery, after care and contractual relationship with organ and tissue recovery agencies throughout the United States. Bliss holds Bachelor degrees in biology and health facilities management and a Masters of Business Administration. Bliss is a Certified Tissue Bank Specialist and has served on multiple industry specific boards including AATB Board of Governors, Donate Life and as Chair of the Gift of Life Trust Fund of South Carolina, for which she was a founding member. Bliss has been part of the U.S. organ and tissue donation community since 1988.

I'd also like to take a moment to thank Jason LoVerdi for all of his hard work and dedication to the association. After onboarding Beverly, Jason will be transitioning out of his role at AATB to pursue new opportunities, and I wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.

Finally, I'd like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all of the AATB staff members who have been working tirelessly to serve all of you, our members, and to provide you with the resources and support that you need to successfully do your life-saving and life-enhancing work.